Back when I first started around here (that's summer 2005), one of the CDs laying around was a 4-track EP from one Megan McCauley, a young female rocker who was drawing some comparisons to Evanescence. And it wasn't that far off--I mean there was a certain degree of goth atmosphere (yeah, yeah, just go with me on this one) lacking from Megan's tracks, but they were pretty decent and were definitely close enough to be snapped up by Evanescence fans who were tired of waiting on Amy Lee to get her act together and release what would become The Open Door. At any rate, as far as I know, that EP was released to relatively little fanfare, and her real claims to fame were songs on the Elektra and Fantastic Four soundtracks (Wind-Up's favorite, and generally successful, way to pimp their artists, I think). Okay, enough about the label and labelmates and such. Jump back to the here and now, where she's finally of age and ready to release a full-length disc. Now, maybe my memory just ain't what it used to be, or maybe I'm getting older and my tastes are becoming more refined (or both, or neither), but the music on Better Than Blood doesn't sound much like what I remember exciting me about Megan a couple years ago. Instead of goth-light rock (as opposed to goth light rock, whatever that would be...), we've primarily pushed into straight up pop rock with the vaguely punk tinges artists like Avril Lavigne like to claim exist.
The album opens with "Migraine," a song that starts with a jangly guitar line and poppy vocal hook, then transitions into a simple power chord riff. Easy to follow vocal line, radio-hooky chorus, a little synth bridge... you get the picture. "Fragile" sounds a little edgier maybe but still a pretty straightforward pop rock song, sounds like a chord pattern Nirvana might have used and then covered in sugar-sweet production. "Wrong Way Out" is a little lower on the tempo scale, and let's be honest, the sort of thing that would show up as a slow dance in middle school. "Reverie" is her "My Immortal," a piano-driven rock ballad.
Which brings us to the first single, "Tap That." Where to begin... Okay, so, the first time I heard this, all I could do was roll my eyes, but now I'm afraid it's become a guilty pleasure. The faux-rap verse evokes Pink's "Get The Party Started," and the ridiculous lyrics "Yeah, I kinda like that/I wanna tap that/you can bet I'm gonna get you" get stuck in your head. The rest of the CD goes on more like the first half, although perhaps a little more "serious" in tone. "Come To Me" has more synth and strings to go along with programmed drums, and maybe even sounds a like something like Frou Frou/Imogen Heap just dumbed down and with an extra rock flavor added. Then there's the second piano ballad of the disc, "Porcelain Doll," supposedly about her first relationship with a girl. And the disc finally closes with the most direct daddy-issue song I've heard of late, "I'll Pay You To Shoot Him." Opening with "Hey father, I wanna put you to an end..." what else is there to do say?
So. Better Than Blood doesn't really offer me what I thought I remembered of Megan McCauley, but I guess all told it's not so bad. It's nothing fancy or groundbreaking, to be sure, pretty much pure sugar-coated pop rock. On the other hand, that doesn't always have to be a bad thing, and at least the songs are pretty catchy. Just don't think too hard about it, and you might catch yourself playing "Tap That" through your head in the middle of a boring meeting.
